UFC 168 Notebook: Point of Contention

Miesha
Tate buys into the idea that one can turn past failure into
future success.

Tate will try and put that belief into practice when she challenges
unbeaten
Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight titleholder
Ronda
Rousey in the UFC
168 co-main event on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in
Las Vegas. With a loss to Rousey already on the books, the stakes
could not be higher for Tate, a substitute for the injured Cat
Zingano.

“The fight is as big as it gets for me,” she said during a
pre-fight media call. “It doesn’t get any bigger. It doesn’t get
any better. I’m training so hard, and I feel so focused. This has
been by far the best training camp I’ve had in my life. I finally
feel like I’ve reached a point in my life where my maturity level
and my skill set are on the same level. I feel so good about this
fight. I feel so confident.

“I know there’s a lot on the line, but for me, that just adds to
the element of excitement,” Tate added. “I didn’t get into this
sport because I wanted to take an easy road. I’ve always felt like
this sport pulls the most out of me.”

Rousey submitted Tate -- just as she has every other opponent she
has faced -- with a first-round armbar under the Strikeforce
banner in March 2012. While she found some success in the standup
and in scrambles, Tate ultimately succumbed to the decorated
judoka’s patented maneuver 4:27 into round one. The defeat halted
Tate’s career-best six-fight winning streak and fanned the flames
of one of the sport’s fiercest rivalries.

“The mistake in the fight was technical, but it happened because of
emotion,” Tate said. “I think I was overemotional in the fight. I
went out there and I kind of abandoned the game plan a little bit.
I allowed her to play into her game plan, and I just got sucked
into all of it. I’m more mature now. I’ve grown a lot as a
person.

“When you lose, whether you make a mistake ... that’s why you make
mistakes in life, so that you can learn and become better, bigger
and stronger,” she added. “That’s what I feel like I’ve done. I
don’t necessarily look at it as a mistake anymore. I look at it as
a learning experience.”

Rousey, who coached opposite Tate on Season 18 of “The Ultimate
Fighter,” has since become the face of the women’s mixed martial
arts movement. The 26-year-old Olympic bronze medalist made her
promotional debut at UFC 157 in February, when she dispatched Liz
Carmouce with an armbar 4:49 into the first-ever UFC fight between
females. Though the “Rowdy” one emerged with another notch on her
belt, Carmouche had her moments, transitioning to the champion’s
back before threatening her with a rear-naked choke and neck crank.
Rousey never buckled under the adversity, but the success Carmouche
enjoyed, no matter how fleeting, seemed to provide hope to the rest
of the 135-pound division.

“There’s always weaknesses in the game,” Tate said. “I think people
build Ronda up to be this invincible person and that there’s no way
she can be beaten, but I don’t see it that way at all. I see a lot
of holes in her game, and I see a lot of ways she can be exploited.
Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it won’t ever
happen.”

Last Stand for ‘The Crippler’

Photo:
Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Leben owns a 12-9 UFC record.

Chris
Leben has carved out quite a career for himself across 21
appearances inside the Octagon, but his run could be nearing its
end.

On a three-fight losing streak, Leben will toe the line against
“The Ultimate Fighter 17” finalist and former Ring of
Combat champion Uriah Hall in a
compelling middleweight showdown as part of the UFC 168 prelims.
Another defeat could leave “The Crippler” without a UFC roster spot
for the first time in nearly nine years.

Hall faces similar consequences should he falter, as he has thus
far failed to meet the high expectations that were set for him
during his time on Season 17 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” The
29-year-old has wound up on the wrong side of consecutive split
decisions against Kelvin
Gastelum and John Howard.
Still, Leben views him as representative of the new breed of
fighter entering the MMA arena.

“The game has changed over the years,” Leben said in his pre-fight
interview with UFC.com. “Now we’re getting real athletes. Uriah has
got amazing talents and abilities.”